E. Nesbit was a British children’s author, novelist, and poet. Nesbit spent her childhood in France and Germany and later led an ordinary country life in Kent, which provided scenes for her books. She was interested in socialism and was one of the founders of the association known as the Fellowship

minstrel show: …by Black composers such as James Bland, a popular singer-banjoist who wrote some 700 songs, including “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny.” In general, these minstrel shows were the only theatrical medium in which gifted Black performers of the period could support themselves.

United States: Constitutional differences with Britain: Rights, as Richard Bland of Virginia insisted in The Colonel Dismounted (as early as 1764), implied equality. And here he touched on the underlying source of colonial grievance. Americans were being treated as unequals, which they not only resented but also feared would lead to a loss…

Bobby (“Blue”) Bland was an American rhythm-and-blues singer noted for his rich baritone voice, sophisticated style, and sensual delivery; from 1957 to 1985 he scored 63 single hits on the R&B charts. Bland began his career in Memphis, Tennessee, with bluesman B.B. King and ballad singer Johnny Ace

United States: The Rutherford B. Hayes administration: …over the president’s veto, the Bland–Allison Act, which renewed the coinage of silver dollars and, more significantly, included a mandate to the secretary of the treasury to purchase silver bullion at the market price in amounts of not less than $2,000,000 and not more than $4,000,000 each month.

Ken Freeman: …in 1988 with Australian astronomer Joss Bland-Hawthorn. In their paper “The New Galaxy: Signatures of Its Formation” (2002), they described the field of “galactic archaeology,” in which obtaining accurate velocities, positions, and chemical compositions of many individual stars in the Milky Way would lead to a better understanding of how…

George Blanda was an American professional gridiron football player who first as a quarterback and later as a kicker established records for most seasons played (26), most games played (340; broken in 2004), most points scored (2,002; broken in 2000), most points after touchdowns (943 of 959

George Blanda was an American professional gridiron football player who first as a quarterback and later as a kicker established records for most seasons played (26), most games played (340; broken in 2004), most points scored (2,002; broken in 2000), most points after touchdowns (943 of 959

North Dorset: Blandford Forest is the administrative centre.

North Dorset: Blandford Forest is the administrative centre.

John Churchill, 1st duke of Marlborough was one of England’s greatest generals, who led British and allied armies to important victories over Louis XIV of France, notably at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and Oudenaarde (1708). John Churchill was the son of Sir Winston Churchill, member of

Ana Blandiana is a Romanian lyric poet, essayist, and translator, considered one of her generation’s most significant literary voices. An apolitical writer, she was precipitated by events into taking a political role. Blandiana graduated in philology from the University of Cluj (1967). She edited

Blanding’s turtle, (Emydoidea blandingii), freshwater turtle, family Emydidae, found in southern Canada and the north-central to northeastern United States. The upper shell (carapace) of Blanding’s turtle averages about 20 cm (8 inches) in length; it is smooth, rounded, and elongate with yellow

Jennifer Saunders: Wodehouse-inspired Blandings (2013–14) and played a rare dramatic role in the eight-part thriller The Stranger (2020).

Sextus Propertius: The first they called blanditia, a vague but expressive word by which they meant softness of outline, warmth of colouring, a fine and almost voluptuous feeling for beauty of every kind, and a pleading and melancholy tenderness; this is most obvious in his descriptive passages and in his portrayal…

George Blandrata was a physician who became the leading organizer and supporter of Unitarianism in Transylvania. After serving as physician to Queen Bona Sforza of Poland from 1540 to 1552, Blandrata returned to Italy to practice medicine at Pavia, where he aroused the hostility of the authorities

Sir Gilbert Blane, 1st Baronet was a physician known for his reforms in naval hygiene and medicine, which included the use of citrus fruits to prevent scurvy. Blane studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and took his M.D. degree at Glasgow in 1778. He then became private physician to

Juan Manuel Blanes was an Uruguayan painter known for his paintings of historical events in South America and his depictions of gaucho life. Blanes was born into a turbulent period in Uruguayan history. Although the country had been independent since 1828, it was politically unstable and fell into

fox: Classification: cana (Blanford’s, or hoary, fox) Small (1–2 kg) and catlike, with soft fur and a long bushy tail; found in the mountain steppes and deserts of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Israel; coat gray above, white below. V. chama (Cape fox, South African silver fox, or chama)…

coin: Ancient minting: Blanks or planchets (i.e., the small metal disks from which coins are made) seem first to have been cast by pouring the molten alloy from a crucible onto a flat surface, where they cooled into the characteristic lens shape. Later the metal was poured into…

Steven Pinker: …evolutionary approach to cognition in The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (2002), also a Pulitzer Prize finalist. The book dismisses tabula rasa notions of human mental development, citing a large body of research indicative of the determinist role played by genes. While acknowledging the ethical quandaries raised…

blank verse, unrhymed iambic pentameter, the preeminent dramatic and narrative verse form in English and also the standard form for dramatic verse in Italian and German. Its richness and versatility depend on the skill of the poet in varying the stresses and the position of the caesura (pause) in

Franz Grillparzer: …verse, Blanka von Castilien (Blanche of Castile), that already embodied the principal idea of several later works—the contrast between a quiet, idyllic existence and a life of action. Die Ahnfrau, written in the trochaic Spanish verse form, has many of the outward features of the then-popular “fate tragedy” (Schicksalsdrama),…

Fanny Blankers-Koen: …coach, former Olympic triple jumper Jan Blankers, in 1940. In 1942 and 1943 she set world records in the 80-meter hurdles (11.0 sec), high jump (1.71 meters [5.61 feet]), and long jump (6.25 meters [20.51 feet]).

Fanny Blankers-Koen was a versatile Dutch track-and-field athlete who, at the 1948 Olympics in London, became the first woman to win four gold medals at a single Games. During her career she set world records in eight different events. Blankers-Koen first achieved success as a teenager, winning a

floral decoration: Forms of floral decoration: A blanket of flowers is often laid over a casket at a funeral or over a racehorse in the winner’s circle. Blankets are made by stretching burlap over a frame, covering it with a layer of flat fern, and then adding delicate asparagus fern (Sprengeri). The…

cephalopod: Reproduction and life cycles: In the argonaut and the blanket octopus (Tremoctopus) the males differ in appearance and size from the females.

primary election: …state of Washington employed a blanket primary, which enabled voters to select one candidate per office irrespective of party affiliation, with the top vote getter from each party advancing to the general election. In 2003 the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Washington’s primary was unconstitutional, on the…

Bobby Sands: …in, were known as the “blanket” and “dirty” protests, wherein protesting prisoners would only wear a blanket instead of prison uniforms and refused to wash.

nuclear reactor: Reflectors: …as a blanket or a breeding blanket.

Gaillardia: …cultivated as garden ornamentals, especially blanketflower (G. aristata) and annual blanketflower (G. pulchella).

Lloyd Blankfein is an American business executive who served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the investment banking and securities company Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., in the early 21st century. His tenure was marked by criticism owing to his controversial comments and high executive

Lloyd Blankfein is an American business executive who served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the investment banking and securities company Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., in the early 21st century. His tenure was marked by criticism owing to his controversial comments and high executive

dye: Fluorescent brighteners: …water-solubilizing groups, as, for example, Blankophor B, shown here:

history of photography: Development of the wet collodion process: Introduced in 1850 by Louis-Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, albumen paper is a slow printing-out paper (i.e., paper that produces a visible image on direct exposure, without chemical development) that had been coated with egg white before being sensitized. The egg white gave the paper a glossy surface that improved the definition…

race: Postcolonial society: …hasten this supposed process of blanqueamiento (“whitening”). The beliefs and practices of elites in countries with large indigenous populations (e.g., Mexico) became quite contradictory: they tended to glorify the indigenous past in ideologies of indigenismo while still envisaging a future of integration and mixedness, all the while discriminating against extant…

Louis de Durfort, 2nd earl of Feversham was a French-born soldier who played a notable role in military and diplomatic affairs in England under Charles II and James II. Durfort (known as the marquis de Blanquefort in France) met James, then duke of York, in 1650 and went to England in 1665, where

Adolphe Blanqui was a French liberal economist whose History of Political Economy in Europe (1837–38) was the first major study of the history of economic thought. In 1833 Blanqui succeeded Jean-Baptiste Say, under whom he had studied, to the chair of political economy at the Conservatory of Arts

Auguste Blanqui was a revolutionary socialist, a legendary martyr-figure of French radicalism, imprisoned in all for more than 33 years. His disciples, the Blanquists, played an important role in the history of the workers’ movement even after his death. Blanqui’s father was a subprefect in the

Adolphe Blanqui was a French liberal economist whose History of Political Economy in Europe (1837–38) was the first major study of the history of economic thought. In 1833 Blanqui succeeded Jean-Baptiste Say, under whom he had studied, to the chair of political economy at the Conservatory of Arts

Auguste Blanqui was a revolutionary socialist, a legendary martyr-figure of French radicalism, imprisoned in all for more than 33 years. His disciples, the Blanquists, played an important role in the history of the workers’ movement even after his death. Blanqui’s father was a subprefect in the

tilefish, any of about 40 species of elongated marine fishes in the family Malacanthidae (order Perciformes), with representatives occurring in tropical and warm temperate seas. Malacanthidae is formally divided into the subfamilies Malacanthinae and Latilinae; however, some taxonomists consider

Paul Blanshard was an American writer, polemicist, and lawyer best known for his vitriolic criticism of the Roman Catholic Church. Blanshard created a national furor with the publication of American Freedom and Catholic Power (1949), the first in a series of controversial books that severely

Jimmy Blanton was an American jazz musician whose innovative string bass techniques and concepts, displayed during his two years in the Duke Ellington band, made him by far the major influence on subsequent jazz bassists for several decades. While based in St. Louis, Blanton played in the

Jimmy Blanton was an American jazz musician whose innovative string bass techniques and concepts, displayed during his two years in the Duke Ellington band, made him by far the major influence on subsequent jazz bassists for several decades. While based in St. Louis, Blanton played in the

Fred Thompson: Ray Blanton for refusing to grant early releases to inmates who had bribed members of Blanton’s staff. The story was made into the film Marie (1985), and Thompson was cast to play himself. His reassuring yet authoritative on-screen demeanour in the movie launched an acting…

Blantyre, city in Malawi and seat of the country’s judiciary. It lies in the Shire Highlands, in the southern part of the country. Blantyre lies at an elevation (3,409 feet [1,039 metres]) that moderates the tropical climate. It has a rainy season (December to March), a cool season (April to

short-tailed shrew, (genus Blarina), any of three species of North American insectivores that resemble voles in body form. All have minute, degenerate eyes and small ears concealed in the fur. Within the moderately long and pointed muzzle are reddish-tipped teeth. Blarina species are among the

short-tailed shrew: …the genus Blarina are the northern (B. brevicauda), the southern (B. carolinensis), and Elliot’s (B. hylophaga) short-tailed shrew. Blarina is one of many genera classified with “true shrews” of the family Soricidae in the order Soricimorpha, which belongs to a larger group of mammals referred to as insectivores. Their evolutionary…

short-tailed shrew: brevicauda), the southern (B. carolinensis), and Elliot’s (B. hylophaga) short-tailed shrew. Blarina is one of many genera classified with “true shrews” of the family Soricidae in the order Soricimorpha, which belongs to a larger group of mammals referred to as insectivores. Their evolutionary history extends back to…

short-tailed shrew: carolinensis), and Elliot’s (B. hylophaga) short-tailed shrew. Blarina is one of many genera classified with “true shrews” of the family Soricidae in the order Soricimorpha, which belongs to a larger group of mammals referred to as insectivores. Their evolutionary history extends back to the late Pliocene Epoch…

Blarney, village, County Cork, Ireland, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Cork city, famous for Blarney Castle (c. 1446). Below the battlements on the southern wall of the castle is the Blarney Stone, reputed to confer eloquence on those who kiss it; this feat can be achieved only by hanging head

Blarney: …of the castle is the Blarney Stone, reputed to confer eloquence on those who kiss it; this feat can be achieved only by hanging head downward. “Blarney” as an expression of dubiousness is attributed to Elizabeth I of England, who used it when impugning the worth of Lord Blarney’s promises.…

Blaschka glass, glass models, primarily of natural history specimens, made by Leopold Blaschka (died 1895) and his son Rudolph (died 1939). The Blaschkas were Bohemian, or Czech, by birth but worked in Germany. Their most famous production was the Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, a

Blaschka glass: …natural history specimens, made by Leopold Blaschka (died 1895) and his son Rudolph (died 1939). The Blaschkas were Bohemian, or Czech, by birth but worked in Germany. Their most famous production was the Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, a collection of almost 4,000 models of flowers, plants, and…

Blaschka glass: … (died 1895) and his son Rudolph (died 1939). The Blaschkas were Bohemian, or Czech, by birth but worked in Germany. Their most famous production was the Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, a collection of almost 4,000 models of flowers, plants, and flower parts, made at Dresden between 1887…

Wilhelm Johann Eugen Blaschke was a German mathematician whose major contributions to geometry concerned kinematics and differential and integral geometry. Blaschke became extraordinary professor of mathematics at the Deutsche Technische Hochschule (German Technical University), Prague, in 1913 and

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was a Spanish writer and politician, who achieved world renown for his novels dealing with World War I, the most famous of which, Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis (1916; The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1918), was used as the basis for two U.S. films. He was associated

Karl Gutzkow: …he had published the novel Blasedow und seine Söhne (1838; “Blasedow and His Sons”), a humorous satire on the educational theories of the time.

Carlo Blasis was an Italian ballet teacher and writer on the technique, history, and theory of dancing. He was the first to codify and publish an analysis of the classic ballet technique in his Traité élémentaire, théorique, et pratique de l’art de la danse (1820; An Elementary Treatise upon the

St. Blaise ; Western feast day, February 3; Eastern feast day, February 11) was an early Christian bishop and martyr, one of the most popular medieval saints. He is venerated as the patron saint of sufferers from throat diseases and of wool combers and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. According

St. Blaise ; Western feast day, February 3; Eastern feast day, February 11) was an early Christian bishop and martyr, one of the most popular medieval saints. He is venerated as the patron saint of sufferers from throat diseases and of wool combers and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. According

Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian-born motion-picture actor who was most famous for his sinister portrayal of the elegantly mannered vampire Count Dracula. At age 12 Lugosi ran away from home and began working odd jobs, including stage acting. He studied at the Budapest Academy of Theatrical Arts and

Johannes Blaskowitz was a German colonel-general, a tank specialist who commanded German military forces on several fronts during World War II and who deplored and protested Nazi atrocities. A professional soldier who served in World War I, Blaskowitz rose rapidly during the Third Reich, acting as

blason, a type of catalog verse in which something is either praised or blamed through a detailed listing of its attributes or faults. The word is normally used more specifically to refer to a type of verse in which aspects of the beloved’s appearance are enumerated. This type of blason was said to

English literature: Poetry: …the evils of censorship (The Blasphemers’ Banquet [1989], a verse film partly written in reaction to the fatwa on Salman Rushdie for The Satanic Verses).

Sherman Alexie: Literary career: Blasphemy (2012) collected new and previously published short stories. Alexie also contributed writing on a variety of subjects to the Seattle weekly The Stranger.

blasphemy, irreverence toward a deity or deities and, by extension, the use of profanity. In Christianity, blasphemy has points in common with heresy but is differentiated from it in that heresy consists of holding a belief contrary to the orthodox one. Thus, it is not blasphemous to deny the

Bill Blass was an American designer who helped define the relaxed, pared-down elegance that would characterize American fashion in the late 20th century. Blass left home at age 17 to attend the Parsons School of Design in New York City. He served more than three years in the U.S. Army during World

Bill Blass was an American designer who helped define the relaxed, pared-down elegance that would characterize American fashion in the late 20th century. Blass left home at age 17 to attend the Parsons School of Design in New York City. He served more than three years in the U.S. Army during World

geek: Classy Freddie Blassie and pencil neck geeks: , villain) named “Classy” Freddie Blassie, who had started his career working carnivals in the 1930s. In his autobiography (ghostwritten by Keith Elliot Greenberg), Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks (2003), Blassie describes this moment of invention, which occurred after another carnival employee advised him to check out the geek’s…

bioinformatics: Goals of bioinformatics: An example is the program BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). A development of BLAST, known as position-specific iterated- (or PSI-) BLAST, makes use of patterns of conservation in related sequences and combines the high speed of BLAST with very high sensitivity to find related sequences.

plant disease: Variable factors affecting diagnosis: …or early fall freezes cause blasting (sudden death) of leaf and flower buds or sudden blighting (discoloration and death) of tender foliage.

bomb: Conventional bomb types: Demolition bombs rely on the force of the blast to destroy buildings and other structures. They are usually fitted with a time-delay fuze, so that the bomb explodes only after it has smashed through several floors and is deep inside the target building. Fragmentation bombs,…

blast furnace, a vertical shaft furnace that produces liquid metals by the reaction of a flow of air introduced under pressure into the bottom of the furnace with a mixture of metallic ore, coke, and flux fed into the top. Blast furnaces are used to produce pig iron from iron ore for subsequent

blast injury, any injury caused by a pressure wave, resulting primarily from exposure to an explosion. Blast injuries may be inflicted by waves traveling in gases, liquids, or solids. The first is exemplified by the air blast caused by bomb explosions. Underwater blasts may originate from

H.L. Hunley: Known as blast lung, it either killed the crew instantaneously or incapacitated them, causing the Hunley to sink.

sintering, the welding together of small particles of metal by applying heat below the melting point. The process may be used in steel manufacturing—to form complex shapes, to produce alloys, or to work in metals with very high melting points. In a steel-sintering plant a bed of powdered iron ore,

Wyndham Lewis: …first of two numbers of Blast: Review of the Great English Vortex, a publication that announced the new art movement in a manifesto attacking Victorian values. Contributors included the American Imagist poet Ezra Pound, the French-born sculptor Jacob Epstein, and the French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. Lewis’s writings in this journal…

Matthew Blastares was a Greek Orthodox monk, theological writer, and Byzantine legal authority whose systematizing of church and civil law influenced the development of later Slavic legal codes. A priest-monk of the Esaias monastery at Thessalonica, Greece, Blastares in 1335 compiled the Syntagma

A.J.M. Smith: Later anthologies include The Blasted Pine (1957; rev. ed. 1967), edited with F.R. Scott, a collection of Canadian satiric and invective verse; and The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English and French (1960). In his own poetry, collected in volumes such as News of the Phoenix (1943),…

blastema, in zoology, a mass of undifferentiated cells that has the capability to develop into an organ or an appendage. In lower vertebrates the blastema is particularly important in the regeneration of severed limbs. In the salamander, for example, tissues in the stump of a limb

mining: Horizontal openings: drifts: A pattern of parallel blastholes is drilled into the rock face at the end of the drift. The diameter of these holes ranges from 38 to 64 mm (1.5 to 2.5 inches), but in general one or more larger-diameter uncharged holes are also drilled as part of the initial…

mining: Blasthole stoping: When the dip of a deposit is steep (greater than about 55°), ore and waste strong, ore boundaries regular, and the deposit relatively thick, a system called blasthole stoping is used. A drift is driven along the bottom of the ore body, and…

blasting, process of reducing a solid body, such as rock, to fragments by using an explosive. Conventional blasting operations include (1) drilling holes, (2) placing a charge and detonator in each hole, (3) detonating the charge, and (4) clearing away the broken material. Upon detonation, the

blasting cap, device that initiates the detonation of a charge of a high explosive by subjecting it to percussion by a shock wave. In strict usage, the term detonator refers to an easily ignited low explosive that produces the shock wave, and the term primer, or priming composition, denotes a

Alfred Nobel: …more powerful form of dynamite, blasting gelatin, which he patented the following year. Again by chance, he had discovered that mixing a solution of nitroglycerin with a fluffy substance known as nitrocellulose results in a tough, plastic material that has a high water resistance and greater blasting power than ordinary…

nitroglycerin, a powerful explosive and an important ingredient of most forms of dynamite. It is also used with nitrocellulose in some propellants, especially for rockets and missiles, and medically it is employed as a vasodilator in the easing of cardiac pain. Pure nitroglycerin is a colourless,

fungus: Annotated classification: Order Blastocladiales Parasitic (on many different substrates, including decaying fruits) or saprotrophic; example genera include Allomyces and Coelomomyces. Phylum Microsporidia Parasitic on animals and protists; unicellular; highly reduced mitochondria

fungus: Annotated classification: Class Blastocladiomycetes Parasitic or saprotrophic; contains 1 order. Order Blastocladiales Parasitic (on many different substrates, including decaying fruits) or saprotrophic; example genera include Allomyces and Coelomomyces. Phylum Microsporidia

fungus: Annotated classification: Phylum Blastocladiomycota Parasitic on plants and animals, some are saprotrophic; aquatic and terrestrial; flagellated; alternates between haploid and diploid generations (zygotic meiosis); contains 1 class. Class Blastocladiomycetes Parasitic or saprotrophic; contains 1 order. Order Blastocladiales

blastula: …enclosing a fluid-filled cavity, the blastocoel. After the blastula develops, it undergoes transition to the gastrula (q.v.), a process called gastrulation. In organisms such as mammals, the earlier morula (q.v.), a berrylike cluster of cells, develops into a somewhat different form of blastula, the blastocyst (q.v.).

blastocyst, a distinctive stage of a mammalian embryo. It is a form of blastula that develops from a berrylike cluster of cells, the morula. A cavity appears in the morula between the cells of the inner cell mass and the enveloping layer. This cavity becomes filled with fluid. The blastocyst

blastula: …epithelial (covering) layer, called the blastoderm, enclosing a fluid-filled cavity, the blastocoel. After the blastula develops, it undergoes transition to the gastrula (q.v.), a process called gastrulation. In organisms such as mammals, the earlier morula (q.v.), a berrylike cluster of cells, develops into a somewhat different form of blastula, the…

budding, in biology, a form of asexual reproduction in which a new individual develops from some generative anatomical point of the parent organism. In some species buds may be produced from almost any point of the body, but in many cases budding is restricted to specialized areas. The initial

blastoid, any member of an extinct class (Blastoidea) of echinoderms, animals related to the modern starfish and sea lilies, that existed from the Middle Ordovician to the Late Permian periods (from 472 million to 251 million years ago). Blastoids were sedentary animals anchored to the seafloor by

blastoid, any member of an extinct class (Blastoidea) of echinoderms, animals related to the modern starfish and sea lilies, that existed from the Middle Ordovician to the Late Permian periods (from 472 million to 251 million years ago). Blastoids were sedentary animals anchored to the seafloor by

animal development: Cleavage: …produced during cleavage are called blastomeres. The divisions are mitotic—i.e., each chromosome in the nucleus splits into two daughter chromosomes, so that the two daughter blastomeres retain the diploid number of chromosomes. During cleavage, almost no growth occurs between consecutive divisions, and the total volume of living matter does not…

blastomycosis: …fungal organisms of the genus Blastomyces. Blastomyces occur in the environment, being abundant especially in decomposing organic matter and damp soil. The organisms are endemic to the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys, the Great Lakes region, and the southeastern United States. Infection most typically occurs following disturbance of soil in…

blastomycosis: …of blastomycosis in humans involve Blastomyces dermatitidis. Infection generally is mild, and some persons are asymptomatic. In other instances, however, such as in persons with weakened immune systems, illness can be severe.